30 Days of Sonic DAY 10 - Poll of the Week 2: Project Needlemouse [30DOS22]

[Dreadknux]

It's Friday! Time to relax with a new Poll of the Week!

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You have until Sunday 12 June at 23:59 UK Time the end of the month to get your votes in!

Poll of the Week

Project Needlemouse in the House

Imagine that it is 2010 and Project Needlemouse (i.e. Sonic 4) is all over the news again. Now imagine this image was thrust upon you by SEGA, once again:

If you were in charge of SEGA, which character (either instead of, or besides, Sonic) would you opt to make playable? We want your reasoning outlined in your post alongside your vote!

Good voting!

EDIT: I forgot to talk about MY vote!  It was tough, quite honestly, but in the end I went for Vector. Sonic 4's thing was all about paying homage to Sonic 1, and if you consider the binned sound test 'Sonic Band' that was originally going to be in the 1991 Mega Drive game, Vector technically makes it as Sonic's very oldest 'shitty friend' in the list. Plus I'd just like to see him blop around using Sonic 4's weirdo physics.

[Eggman Fan]

Froggy is the objectively correct choice, cause then Big has to show up.

[Ryannumber1gamer]

Out of what's there, I'd go with Shadow, personally, with Amy in second place. I feel like you could do some fun things by mixing Shadow's chaos abilities to make him stand-out compared to Sonic, in the same way Tails and Knuckles already does in the Genesis games.

Amy is again second place, but we've already got a general idea of how she could work in 2D thanks to the Advance series, while Shadow - shockingly - has very little. I think it'd be neat to see him adapted into a gameplay style he hasn't really been playable in yet.

[Dr. Mechano]

Alas, my number-one choice was not on that original list.

Of the choices given, I'd pick Vector. He's a funny character, and I always liked him and the rest of the Chaotix. He's probably my favorite of the good guys in the Sonic series, even if he's not my favorite character overall.

Plus it'd be nice to see Sonic and his old band-mate co-star in a game together:

 

[Nix]

Amy not being playable in Classic Sonic games at this point should be considered a crime; still can't believe we got Mighty and Ray in Mania instead of her to be honest lmao. If Sonic 4 was an actual real follow-up to the classic games, then I'd add her.

At least she's in the Advance series, even if Advance 2 made her an absolute nightmare to unlock for some unknown reason.

[Sean]

Of the choices there I feel like Shadow's the only one Sega would have realistically gone with. If I had it my way I would have chosen both Shadow and Amy since they play similarly enough to Sonic in most of their appearances. Even then I'm sure Sega would have made them Sonic clones like they did with Metal in episode 2.

Also I thought the poll was a joke at first lol so I voted for Shade before I realized that's actually what the prompt was about

[Covskin]

You know what? Charmy. I want to fly around and break the level structure again.

[Indigo Rush]

Heh, let's get weird with this.

I vote Mr Needlemouse. The specific design doesn't quite matter as much, but the premise I'd go for is this:

Dr Eggman has done the unthinkable and collected all seven Chaos Emeralds and manages to incapacitate Sonic and friends. Not satisfied with conquering the world, he comes up with the brilliant idea to travel across different dimensions in search of more worlds to conquer!

Using his reality-bending power in conjunction with his evil genius, he creates a portal to an alternate dimension, only to find a little doodle of something... similar to Sonic, and he doesn't take kindly to mean, egg-shaped doctors.

You take control of Mr Needlemouse in a strange primal world based on early concepts of the first Sonic game. It's up to you to help Mr Needlemouse save his planet and defeat Dr Eggman through high speed 2D platforming action! Reclaim those Chaos Emeralds... and maybe even save your doppelganger from another dimension!

 

[NikoS]

Shadow, I'd like to see him playable alongside Sonic in the retro formula that was teased,

How would the gameplay differ from Sonic's? It could lead to some interesting mechanics.

[WanderingBleats]

2 hours ago, Sonic Fan 3,183 said:

Froggy is the objectively correct choice, cause then Big has to show up.

This is a pretty good argument, but I feel like Sega would be a literal genie about this and only give Froggy.

I'm going to vote Big because I like him a lot, and also because I'm curious how he would play in 2D. I feel like his weight and his round shape could lend itself very well to momentum-based platforming... which Sonic 4 didn't have, so I would have ended up disappointed. But I would have ended up disappointed with literally any character on the list given the way the game turned out. Also, maybe he could like use his fishing pole as a grappling hook? That would be cool!

Of course, the real answer is Pikachu in a sombrero.

[Cosmos Rogue]

I voted for Amy because I'm still salty that she was never added to Mania as a playable character.

[Iko]

Voted for Big the Cat... completely replacing Sonic.

It would have been a Big the Cat spin-off and nobody would have gotten angry at the weird physics or automation, or the dying cats and ducks in the soundfont, or reused zones and bosses.

Big the Cat would have made the whole game so much hilarious to watch that all the problems would be gone, the game would have been remembered as a funny little masterpiece of a spin-off, a parody of the classic games instead of a sequel wannabe, and nobody would have complained

[Winston]

I'm voting for Vector because I like Vector. He also hasn't been playable in a platformer in like twenty years, well minus Sonic Runners, but I guess at this time it had only been about six years. Regardless, he's a charming croc and I'll do anything to get my Chaotix spin-off. 

[castell-neath]

I went with Big. The idea of him fishing for choppers in Splash Hill intrigues me. Of course the end of zone capsules would release LOADS of froggies and or fish. 

 

His gameplay would be easy...just bellyflop to unlock paths like Mighty.

But yes, fishing for choppers would be great

[A super No.1 washedupgamer]

I'm voting chip. His colossus superform is going to demolish entire zones.

[Celestia]

As fun as some of the options are I sincerely voted for Amy. She's one of my faves and I always wanted her to be playable in main games more. It sucks that her platformer adventures amount to just SA1, the Advance games, Heroes and 06...not exactly a great lineup after like, Advance. Or Advance 2 if I'm feeling nice.

Her SA1 moveset was always one of the most fascinating concepts in the game to me, and even in 2D I think there's some potential there. I remember being disappointed you had to stop to use the hammer jump in Advance because 90% of the fun of it was you do it while moving...

 

I was tempted by Sonic's new friend Mr. Needlemouse though. I can't help but imagine a really classy guy.

Oh, Shadow would be cool too. I think his SRB2 warping seen in that one mod would actually fit pretty well in 2D, being able to make it to places Sonic couldn't but not quite as far reaching as Tails or Knuckles.

[Cuz]

I'm with the Amy crowd on this. She fits in the classic era just fine, if you're looking for a nostalgic throwback. She's an obvious choice. 

Of course playable Vector is just too much of a good thing you mad lads!

[Tornado]

I was much more interested in Sonic 4 when it seemed like it was going to be a self-aware Sonic series spinoff, so Noodlemouse it is.

[JezMM]

Yeah, probably no surprise that I went for the sincere vote and chose Amy.  I don't get too bitter about it but the games really do her dirty in terms of inconsistent characterisation and rare playability, and she'd have such potential if just all of her better aspects could come together into one game for once.

[Zaysho]

I would vote Shade for the ensuing chaos considering the Sonic 4 project was teased roughly around the same time Penders announced he was suing Sega. That would be a really funny fire to watch burn.

 

But for my real answer/personal want, it'd be Shadow. He hasn't really had a 2D appearance so it'd be interesting to see how he could be differentiated from Sonic, even if it's something as simple as just giving him Blaze's ability to slow descent, maybe give him a light dash and trails only he can access with it. Amy would probably be my second choice, since you can use her Advance 1 moveset as a basis.

[StaticMania]

Make Amy playable, she has a hammer, is slow, can turn invisible, can double jump, create tornadoes, can glide, and has magic.

She's the perfect choice to contrast Sonic's simpler moveset.

[Piko]

Froggy without a doubt. No reason, I just think it would be funny.

[Iko]

1 hour ago, Celestia said:

I remember being disappointed you had to stop to use the hammer jump in Advance because 90% of the fun of it was you do it while moving...

B... but... you actually CAN do it while moving...

BTW Amy was my second choice, but I didn't take her due to it being in the engine of Sonic 4, with Sonic 4's physics... I'm not sure if her hammer gameplay would work well.

It would have been cool having Amy and Cream doing tag actions in Episode 2 though.

[Stasis]

Project Needlemouse would have featured Mr.Needlemouse. A Knuckles Chaotix spiritual sequel in which they are buddied up to solve stages, taking inspiration from Ren and Stimpy on the Genesis.

[The Tenth Doctor]

Voted Shadow cause I always wanted to see how he handled in a proper 2D game. I remember playing a fan game called Shadow of Chaos years ago and always remember liking it, hoping Shadow would be in Advance 3. It was not to be, as was Sonic 4.